Shootings
by AsWeAreNow
Summary: It really sucks to go grocery shopping after a mass shooting. England decides that now is a perfectly good time to tell America that he is not at fault for this sad fact of life.


England was scrolling through Yahoo articles one fine morning. He had nothing better to do than to browse The Worst Search Engine.

He stumbled across an article: _56 Dead in Wyoming: Mass Shooting on Black Friday_

His first thought was, _to hell with Black Friday_. His second thought was, _Holy shit, that's a lot of people— is America alright? _

And so he quickly decided that something had to be done.

(Linebreak.)

While England was panicking, America was buying groceries. He didn't need groceries, he just needed something to do.

Walking into Walmart and knowing that you could die is a very thrilling thing indeed. It certainly makes your grocery trips that much more interesting. Still, America decided, getting food at two in the morning was just fine.

He was only out of cereal and ketchup. Instead of getting those things immediately like any normal person might (but then, did normal people go to Walmart at two in the morning?), he meandered through the store. He perused the backs of cereal boxes and shampoo bottles. He bought soup like he was actually going to eat soup. Maybe he would; he didn't have any Thanksgiving leftovers, as he hadn't celebrated.

He bought watermelon like it was summertime. He put honey mustard in the cart, too, and some Tillamook icecream (he was done with Bluebell, since they didn't seal their icecream). And powdered goat milk. And flip flops. And really, anything was better than going home again.

After twenty more minutes of walking all over the store, he decided that he'd gotten out any energy that couldn't have been cleared by a nice run on the treadmill. He paid for his stuff and started walking to the car, only to realize he forgot the ketchup.

When America arrived at home, he figured he'd evaded being injured by the shooting, because he no longer felt so restless. He tripped on one of the porch steps and fell on his face.

(Linebreak.)

At the next World Meeting, the crowd of nations was starting to disperse. America was on his phone and was about to leave when England grabbed his sleeve.

America turned. He could've easily kept going, but this felt a little important. When he saw England he almost continued to walk, but decided that now that he'd acknowledged England, that would be rude.

"America," England said. He seemed breathless now. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

America sighed. "What is this about?"

"Sit down, America," England said, pushing him towards the chairs. China and Japan were there as well. Everyone else was gone.

"Okay. So what did ya want me for, then?" America asked. Despite his cheerfulness, it was clear he was annoyed.

"America, are you okay?" Japan asked. He looked worried.

America nodded slowly. "Yeah. Why?" Of course he wasn't okay— however, the other nations could not help him. There was no point in asking for their help.

"I— America, I think it's about time I had a talk with you," England started.

"Okay. So why are Japan and China here, then?" America asked.

"America," England said, frowning. "I— Are you quite alright?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, it's just— I imagined you wouldn't be, after what happened."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Japan asked incredulously.

"You know, the shooting?" England said impatiently.

"Oh. In Florid—,"

"No, in Wyoming."

"Oh yeahhhhhhh," America said, nodding slowly. Of course he remembered, but he didn't want to talk about it. He was still holding his phone in his hand, and he took a cautious glance at the news headline. _Two more people dead— _China kicked the phone out of his hand. It flew across the room, straight into a wall. "Hey! What was that for?!?!"

"Do you even care, America?"

America paused. Of course he cared, right? Yeah. He did. He just didn't like thinking about it, even if he always was.

"Anyway, the shooting in Wyoming," England said suddenly. "How did that make you feel?" England inquired. "And don't worry, love. No one blames you for any of this. It's not your fault, and nobody is going to hold you accountable for something that isn't your fault."

"I guess it made me feel bad," America replied.

"How so?"

"I dunno. I guess I'm a little more afraid to go to Walmart now."

"How do the shootings affect you?" Japan asked. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't know how America could be so unfazed. He was worried for his friend, but...

"I've had a headache since 1999," America admitted. It wasn't the truth, but the others didn't know that.

"Have you thought of any solutions yet?" China interrupted. When America shook his head, China said, "I have an idea. How about g—,"

"I've got it! Thanks, China! You just gave me like the most awesome best idea ever, dude!" America cried, leaping up.

"Well?" England said after a moment, tilting his head. "What is it?" He prompted.

"I'll get my groceries _delivered_!"

"No!" The other three nations shouted.

**A/N: I'll just go ahead and put the disclaimer here. Shootings are, in fact, a large problem in America. However, these days Americans mostly seem to be unfazed until it actually affects them. It's easier to talk lightly over here than discuss any real solutions, and it's easier to think of what you can do to keep yourself safe rather than what should be done. I don't at all believe that shootings are a light matter; it depresses me quite a bit. But then, I suppose that's just the thing. The news is rather depressing, and it's easier to make light of it. Until it affects you, at least. **

**This story wasn't written to make light of such situations. Truly, it is extremely difficult to read about shootings every other day. I choose not to follow the news, but eventually I end up hearing the statistics anyway. I hate to say this, but it's easier to just become apathetic to the fact that such things happen. It doesn't feel great to become apathetic, but it's easy, and all anyone here really does is what's easy. **

**If formatting is off, it's because I'm on mobile and the app is a cunt. I'll try to fix it as soon as I can.**


End file.
